Tag Archives: consumer buying

Nov 22 2025

“DARK PATTERNS” COSTING TRAVELERS MONEY

Dark patterns are deceptive tactics that manipulate airline customers into paying more than they plan. These psychological tricks can result in a traveler having higher costs as much as double.

These manipulation techniques can occur at various stages of the booking process and include:

  • False scarcity may appear as “Only 2 seats left” to create artificial urgency for higher-priced fare options. Making a quick decision does not allow time to compare prices.
  • Artificial urgency with countdown timers ticking to imply that you only have a few minutes to guarantee your fare or finalize your booking.
  • Fake social pop-ups manipulate you to think that many other travelers are currently considering the same flight. This tactic implies that if you don’t book soon, someone else will take the available seat.
  • Aggressive pop-ups involve prompts at checkout that push upgrades with a prominent, visually appealing button. Remember, the option you initially selected is probably perfectly suitable for your needs. 
  • Bait-and-switch pricing starts with an attractive “bargain fare” without details related to airline, flight times, or restrictions. After you make payment, you realize the schedule or restrictions are no bargain. 
  • FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) warnings are created with intimidating red boxes to make the least expensive fares sound terrible. The fear-mongering notes point out restrictions and inconvenience to create anxiety and encourage paying extra to avoid the imagined hassles. 
  • Forced choice prompts require that you clearly accept or decline add-ons like travel insurance.  A hurried traveler may click “yes” to quickly move forward resulting in an unexpected higher cost.

Actions that can help to avoid these deceptive tactics that result in higher costs include:

  • Browsing in “incognito mode” to prevent an airline from tracking your search history and possibly raising prices based on your interest for a specific flight.  
  • Refreshing your search results to clear any fake warnings and timers.
  • Using “meta-search” engines (such as Skyscanner, Kayak, Google Flights) for obtaining fare information without upsells and manipulation tactics.
  • Checking-in online later in the process when better seats might be available for no upcharge.
  • Reviewing the total cost, not just the basic fare, to make sure the bottom line (after fees and taxes) is still the best deal.

For additional information on travel dark patterns, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students talk to others or use AI to obtain suggestions for getting the best airfares and bargains when buying other goods and services.
  • Have students create a podcast with tips to warn others of deceptive tactics that can result in paying higher airfares.

Discussion Questions 

  1. What tactics discussed in this article have you observed or experienced when making an online purchase?
  2. Describe actions a person might take to avoid deceptive online marketing tactics.
Jan 18 2025

DYNAMIC PRICING

As you read this, prices are changing and can vary several times today. Dynamic pricing makes use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to determine changes in the costs of goods and services.

Setting prices for a product of service is an economic art to ensure a profit from the sale of each item. However, a fair price as perceived by customers is also necessary for attracting repeat sales.

Dynamic pricing differs from price gouging, which involves exploitation often because of a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, earthquake). When an extreme need for water, food, batteries and other necessities exists, a business may radically raise prices on those items: that’s price gouging and is prohibited in many states.

Examples of dynamic pricing include:

  • Online retail prices can vary several times during a day. These variations are based on supply, demand, prices charged by competitors, the season, and clicks for an item.  The price may also vary if purchased on your phone or on your computer.
  • Fast-food businesses and other restaurants may adjust prices based on customer tracking data, demand and peak times.  Dynamic pricing can encourage customer visits on less popular days and slow times.  A backlash can occur when customers know they are being charged more during lunch than at other times of the day.
  • Ticket prices for sporting events, concerts, and Broadway shows in great demand are often higher than other events.
  • Airlines are a major user of dynamic pricing. Weekend airfares are often more expensive than weekdays as are holiday travel prices.  The fare can vary by day, location, weather, and other factors.  Flexibility of travel dates, checking online sites at different times, and viewing online calendars provided by airlines can result in savings.  
  • In addition, dynamic pricing is used by hotels, local stores, supermarkets, gas stations, car rental companies and others.

In the future, expect companies to continue to use technology to change prices many times each day. Consumers need to be smarter, shop around, and be diligent. Bottom of Form

For additional information on dynamic pricing, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students monitor prices several times over two weeks to determine changes in an item in a store or online.
  • Have students identify online sites and apps that monitor prices to assist consumers in getting the best prices for various items.

Discussion Questions 

  1. What factors commonly affect price changes for items you buy regularly?
  2. Describe actions a person might take to get the best prices.   
Aug 3 2024

SHRINKFLATION AND SKIMPFLATION

Over the years, companies have raised prices through shrinkflation, in which the price of an item stays the same while the package size is reduced. A sports drink bottle is now 28 ounces instead of 32 ounces, or the “half gallon” ice cream carton is now 1.5 quarts or smaller. However, the price has stayed the same or perhaps increased. 

Other examples of companies downsizing products without downsizing prices include air-filled chip bags, smaller soup cans, and reduced size detergent packages. This marketing strategy is not new.  One of the first examples was years ago when a coffee company reduced its one-pound can to 13 ounces.

Similarly, skimpflation occurs when lower-quality materials are used in products like paper towels or cheaper ingredients in microwave dinners and restaurant meals, while prices remain unchanged. This also occurs when a hotel reduces the frequency of room cleaning or offers fewer food options for the complimentary breakfast.

While shrinkflation can be measured in government cost-of-living statistics, skimpflation is much harder to compute. If a paper towel roll costs the same with fewer sheets (shrinkflation) that will show up as a unit cost increase (inflation). However, if the paper towel roll is the same size but with inferior material quality (skimpflation), this change is not reflected in inflation statistics.

To get the best value for your money, consumers are encouraged to: (1) continue to use unit pricing to compare package sizes; (2) compare prices at several stores; (3) search online for digital coupons and rebates; and (4) read reviews of other consumers for information on changing product quality.

For additional information on shrinkflation, click here.

Video link: click here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students find examples of shrinkflation and skimpflation for various products and services.
  • Have students create a visual (poster or slide presentation) that compares examples of shrinkflation and skimpflation.

Discussion Questions 

  1. Describe actions a person might take to stay aware of shrinkflation and skimpflation.
  2. How can a person assess changes in product or service quality to continue to make wise consumer choices?
Nov 27 2021

ARE YOU AN IMPULSE BUYER?

During the COVID quarantine, online buying became an addiction for many.  During this time, impulse spending increased by an estimated 18 percent.  Unplanned buying occurs when you purchase more than intended.  Or, buying extra grocery items while shopping when you are hungry. Or, a bad day at work results in a purchase to overcome anxiety.

Most spending occurs to make a person feel better. A survey reported that 72 percent of respondents reported a positive mood from an impulse buy, while 65 percent reported that an impulse buy can reverse a bad day. Others reported that they buy things to help loved ones feel better.

Three personality types are often associated with impulse buying:

  1. Sensation seekers may not consider the risks of impulse buying but desire the spending experience when they feel guilty, bored, or disengaged.
  2. Impulse buying tendency buyers are those who are aware of their behavior but don’t necessarily see it as a problem.
  3. Consumer-driven self-identity is a desire to be part of emerging trends and high-end brands to present an image of status, style, and good taste. 

To take advantage of in-person shoppers, stores make use of sensory environments, bold and graphic signage, associations between brand and positive feelings, checkout line “bonus” items, and price discounts and markdowns. Online retailers encourage buying with the use of time-based and quantity-based deals, heavily targeted social media ads, abandoned shopping cart emails, and free shipping.

Symptoms of impulse buying include:

  • you shop to feel better, which can be dangerous; find other ways to channel your energy
  • you shop to compete with buying to stay up or ahead of others
  • you’re bored; plan something else to do–go for a walk, read, write, draw, email a friend
  • your finances are suffering; track spending to avoid unnecessary purchases   
  • you have too much stuff, much of which you will never use

To reduce your impulse buying…

  • avoid temptations by unfollowing your favorite brand, unsubscribing from marketing emails, clearing browser cookies, blocking favorite sites, deleting shopping apps from your phone, and unsaving credit card information on your browser.
  • create a “fun” budget item as therapy
  • save to buy a “big” item to avoid unneeded spending
  • wait 24-48 hours before buying an item
  • try a no-spend challenge in which you buy nothing for a set number of days, weeks, or months to save money and change past habits. 
  • ask yourself: “Do I need this today or tomorrow?” If not, don’t buy it.

For additional information on impulse buying, click here

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students talk to others to ask about any actions they take to avoid impulse buying.
  • Have students create an in-class presentation or video that dramatizes actions to avoid impulse buying.

Discussion Questions 

  1. What types of impulse buying situations have you experienced or observed?
  2. How might impulse buying affect long-term financial security? 
Apr 17 2021

SCAM TRACKING MAP

Not everyone will be a victim of fraud, but everyone is a target. The AARP Fraud Watch Network offers a scam-tracking map to report fraud activity based on user-submitted information.

To help protect yourself and others, people are asked to report a scam they encounter.  The online form requests your zip code, method of contact (advertisement, door-to-door, Internet, e-mail, U.S. mail, or other), the type of scam, and the amount of money lost to the con artist. The list of scams includes more than 50 types, ranging from debt collection and charities to contests and online auctions.

Further assistance in reporting a scam is available at 1-877-908-3360.  AARP warns that it does not independently verify scam reports, nor guarantee the accuracy of reported scams.

Commonly suggested actions to avoid being taken by a scam include:

  • Only do business with reputable companies.
  • Understand contracts or other documents you sign.
  • Beware of impulse buying; con artists often tell you this is your last chance.
  • If it sounds too good to be true…it probably is!
  • STOP…WAIT…THINK…DON’T!

For additional information on the scam tracking map, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

  • Have students locate examples of current scams that have surfaced in their area.
  • Have students create a video with suggested actions to take to avoid being taken by a scam.

Discussion Questions 

  1. What are reasons that some people are easily deceived by frauds and scams?
  2. Describe actions that might be taken to avoid scams and fraud.